The present invention relates in a most comprehensive way to a binding device, while being particularly but not exclusively suitable for fastening to the foot a bearing structure of a sporting implement. Reference is made in the ensuing description to this particular utilization of the binding device according to this invention, emphasizing the non-limitative character of that application.
In the practice of many sports, the need arises of securing the athlete's foot to the sporting implement, in order for the latter to form a whole with the athlete's body.
This is the case, for example, with skating, where the foot--with a shoe on--is secured to the skate frame, with water skiing, where the bare foot is made fast with the ski, with cycling, where the toe of the foot--with a shoe on--is strapped to the pedal; a seemingly slightly different but substantially equivalent situation is also encountered in skiing, where the foot is restrained in the boot.
More particularly, roller skates are provided--both at the toe and heel ends thereof--with a split strap in two parts, attached to either sides of the skate and connectable adjustably to each other by a buckle or tightening system, etc. A skate of this kind is illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,458. To tighten the foot on the skate, the athlete is to completely unfasten the straps (or at least the rear one), put down his/her foot, and tighten the straps by manually applying a pull force directly thereto.
Water skis have a rest toe piece (adjustable or quite often fixed) and a heel piece quite similar to that of a roller skate, excepting that both the rests and straps are made of an elastic material, for a more comfortable fit.
Pedals of racing bicycles are also provided with an adjustable strap for securing the foot to the pedal, thus obviating the risk of the foot slipping off the pedal even in a situation of top physical effort.
With skiing, by contrast, the athlete's foot should be held fast within a rigid boot. To this end, several approaches have been proposed and utilized. Some of these provide, inside a boot, a saddle or the like rigid element which is pressed against the foot instep at the ankle, with attendant securement of the heel. For pressing the saddle down, a strap or cable system is often employed. As an example, European Patent Application No. 99504 discloses a ski boot wherein a saddle piece is pressed onto the foot instep by a cable wound around a drum mounted on the boot exterior and being hand actuatable.
All of the above prior devices have the problem of improving their functionality, making tightening proper and adjustment of the tightening tension easier to achieve.